The present invention relates generally to the field of mechanical lifts, and more specifically to a wheelchair lift having a platform capable of being folded and stowed beneath the rear portion of a vehicle.
People confined to wheelchairs require special transportational needs. Among these needs are vehicles equipped with ramps or lifting platforms for allowing wheelchair passengers to enter and/or exit or disembark the vehicle while in their wheelchairs. Wheelchair accessible vehicles are desirable not only to the wheelchair passengers themselves, but also to those who want to shuttle disabled customers to and from their businesses, such as hotels and airports. While there are a wide variety of wheelchair accessible vehicles for the wheelchair passenger to chose from for their own personal use, airport and hotel shuttle fleets tend to favor vans (including minivans), since these shuttles typically have to transport small groups of luggage-laden travelers over short distances.
Vans are attractive for the transportation of wheelchair passengers since they can be readily adapted to accommodate a passenger in a wheelchair. One convenient location for the wheelchair passenger is in the rear section of the van, where there is enough room to transport the wheelchair passenger while seated in the wheelchair. However, stowage of the wheelchair-lifting platform becomes an issue.
It is desirable to avoid stowing the wheelchair-lifting platform in the rear of the van, since that space is normally at a premium for storing passenger luggage. It is difficult to position a wheelchair lift platform under the rear of a van because the rear axle interferes with the stowage of the platform. There is not enough room under most vehicles between the rear axle and the rear door to stow a known wheelchair lifting platform when not in use. Therefore, there remains a need for a wheelchair-lifting platform that can be stowed under the rear of a van when not in use. The present invention addresses this need.
The present invention relates to a wheelchair-lifting platform for transporting a passenger seated in a wheelchair back and forth between the rear door of a van and the ground that can be stored below the rear of the van when not in use. One embodiment of the present invention is a manually folding and unfolding platform having rollstops that automatically actuate upon the unfolding of the platform and automatically retract upon the folding of the platform. The platform is folded and stored beneath the rear floor of the van and behind the rear axle when not in use.
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved wheelchair-lifting platform. Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.